The Memphis Cycle
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The great city of Memphis served as the northern capital of Egypt for millennia. The earliest history of the Pharaohs began in Memphis. The great Pyramids cluster to its west. Armies marched from Memphis, navies sailed from its port. Even at the very end of its history, as a shadow of its former glory, Egypt could not be conquered until Memphis fell. The Nile changed its course, as rivers will, and the grand old city disappeared into the marshes, its stones taken to be used in newer sites.
The Memphis Cycle presents the stories of the people who became a part of Memphis. Kings, priests, princes, commoners move through these stories, and in following the tales you follow the city's history. I am glad to see that great city emerging. It has been a welcoming presence in my stories. Purchase links
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The Thirty Cubit Crocodile is my newest entry in The Memphis Cycle stories. It is a shorter story, and the idea came about while I was doing some of research on Seti I's tomb in the Valley of the Kings. (There is a scene in Mourningtide where Seti, who has come to Deir el Medineh - the town of the royal tombmakers - incognito - after visiting his son's tomb. He realized that he needed to take time away from his royal duties, time to cope with the needless death of his first son.
He comes to Deir el Medineh the village of the royal tombmakers, and is hired as a guard. While some people suspect his identity, he is taken in and welcomed as one with knowledge of warfare - important because the towm is being menaced by marauders from the east. I was researching Seti's tomb in the Valley of the Kings. One of the paintings depicts various constellations, among them a large crocodile. I read later, in a bit of poetry, the notion that the Milky Way was sometimes thought to be light sparkling on the ripples in the celestrial river left by the passage of a great crocodile. Whether this notion is correct cannot be proved, but the notion remains.
The Thirty Cubit Crocodle story arose from the Memphis Cycle, but in a somewhat sidewise manner. While researching Seti I's tomb in the valley of the Kings, I was interested to see depictions of celestial characters, one of them a crocodile. The Thirty Cubit Crocodile arose from that image and the Egptian notion (which I encountered in my readings) of the Milky way being the sparkles in its wake. This is a shorter story, and I am grateful to Kerry Trapnell, the photographer, for his permission to use one of his photos as the basis for my cover design.
He comes to Deir el Medineh the village of the royal tombmakers, and is hired as a guard. While some people suspect his identity, he is taken in and welcomed as one with knowledge of warfare - important because the towm is being menaced by marauders from the east. I was researching Seti's tomb in the Valley of the Kings. One of the paintings depicts various constellations, among them a large crocodile. I read later, in a bit of poetry, the notion that the Milky Way was sometimes thought to be light sparkling on the ripples in the celestrial river left by the passage of a great crocodile. Whether this notion is correct cannot be proved, but the notion remains.
The Thirty Cubit Crocodle story arose from the Memphis Cycle, but in a somewhat sidewise manner. While researching Seti I's tomb in the valley of the Kings, I was interested to see depictions of celestial characters, one of them a crocodile. The Thirty Cubit Crocodile arose from that image and the Egptian notion (which I encountered in my readings) of the Milky way being the sparkles in its wake. This is a shorter story, and I am grateful to Kerry Trapnell, the photographer, for his permission to use one of his photos as the basis for my cover design.
TIMELINE
I have had questions regarding the order of the books in this series. I have set up this page to explain them:
TIMELINE
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